Nice; Saturday, 14 December, 2013

A surprisingly quiet breakfast room greeted me when I wandered down a little after 9:30, with only three other tables occupied. Having gorged myself on breakfast I headed out into town to have a wander.

I had a long walk through the city centre, taking in the very impressive gardens that make the centre of the city very pedestrian friendly (but by the looks of it a nightmare for drivers). I then turned into the Old Town area, with its narrow alleyways and lanes, finally stumbling upon the Cathedral more by accident than plan.

Having looked around that I continued my wander through the old town. I eventually reached the southern end of the old town and the stunning view of the coast. With the sun shining down from a cloudless sky it looked almost tempting, if it wasn’t for the fact that it was mid-December.

From the coast I headed over to the lift up to the castle area and spent a very long time wandering around the former fortifications, taking in the stunning views along the Côte D’Azur and basking in the glorious weather.

I stopped for a light lunch in a restaurant at the top of the site with views over to the Ligurian Alps before wandering round to a café for a post lunch coffee with views along the beach and the Promenade des Anglais.

I took the more physical descent back down to sea-level and then wandered along the Promenade des Anglais taking in the views, before picking up the land-train that runs round the city centre taking in the key sights (before heading, inevitably straight back up to the castle and the same place I’d had lunch a couple of hours earlier).

Back on the sea-front I wandered back to the Place Masséna to have a look around the Christmas market that was situated there. It didn’t quite feel right, it looked like a Christmas market, it smelt like a Christmas market, but it was about 15 degrees too warm to be a proper Christmas market.

Just back from the market I went for a quick ride on the Ferris Wheel, taking in the last of the dying light of day before heading back to the hotel to freshen up before going out for dinner.

Weather

Sunny Sunny
AM PM
Warm (10-20C, 50-68F)
15ºC/59ºF